Year 8 Industrial Cadets

News - Apr 4

At the start of this half-term Year 8 students began their projects as part of this brand-new scheme we piloted at Colyton Grammar School.  This has given all students in the year the opportunity to undertake a project to "make the world better/happier", by identifying and solving a problem they feel passionately about.  We have worked with the Engineering Development Trust to develop the plan and resources and have been funded by a generous grant from the Howmet Foundation. 

This project provided opportunities for all students to understand and develop general project skills – researching, understanding problems and solutions, communication, teamwork, presenting findings – and the Engineering Habits of Mind that is a core part of our STEAM programme at Colyton; students took these opportunities with gusto!  The quality of work throughout the project, and the effort that went into the report and poster they produced was roundly praised by teachers and the engineer mentors from Howmet, Antech and Kier who were supporting students. 

Students were presented with four broad areas to consider: Lifestyle (physical & mental health & wellbeing), Cost of Living, Climate Change, Gender Equality, as a general prompt for helping them identify a problem in the world that they would like to solve.  They formed teams with like-minded students, and it was really illuminating to see the type of projects that were most popular, as well as the entire range.  It is clear many of our young people are motivated by improving mental health, physical health, energy and resource efficiency, and providing better life chances for the disadvantaged.  It was common for them to identify an app as the best way to reach people and help support or change behaviour. 

In the last week of the term the projects culminated with the 'Celebration Morning', when teams presented their projects to their forms and engineer mentors, a winner was chosen from each form, and these 5 teams then presented to the whole year group and panel of mentors.  The quality of both the work completed and presentations delivered from all teams was exceptionally high, garnering huge praise from both teachers, and the engineer mentors.  All students engaged with the project and carried out the extensive work in an exemplary manner and should take great pride from what the achieved.  As is often said it was a shame there could only be one winner, and that was never truer than in this case - all mentors commented that deciding on the form winner was a very hard decision, and the final choice required a lot of discussion, and a split decision.  But to recognise those who did make it, here are the 5 finalists: 

                · 'recEAT' - an app with which you can scan your supermarket receipt and be given suggestions of meals you can cook, focusing on healthier eating, and helping to reduce food waste. 

                · ‘MAEHealth’ – an app and website for accessing mental health services and support in the easiest manner, and providing some tips for managing crises, plus journaling. 

                · ‘Grey to Green’ – developing green spaces in cities inside 'nature enrichment bubbles', to improve mental and physical health, and help deal with climate change. 

                · ‘Eco6tem’ – an app that rewards people for doing good things for the environment, such as walking to school, creating a roof top garden, with tasks tailored to the person. 

                · 'EcoZoom' - designing a plane to have vastly reduced carbon dioxide emissions, by using lighter materials, reduced drag point, better fuels, and lightweight solar panels on the wings.  This team were voted the overall winner! 

Although this project is under the banner of STEM, it has provided opportunities to develop knowledge and skills in a wide range of areas, as students take into account people’s behaviour, public opinion, and government policy.  To highlight and support these links, further students worked in one STEM and non-STEM lesson each week, helping them appreciate how the skills they develop in all their subjects are important in any career they may reach in their future.  This proved useful for both students and teachers to explore the many skills that are important in a wide range of applications. 

As a result of the work they carried out, the time they put in, and the report & presentation they produced: all students were award Industrial Cadets Challenger Awards and are also eligible for a CREST Bronze Award.  These are highly regarded recognitions of the skills and type of work put in and useful for future applications, regardless of the field pursued.  All students should be immensely proud of what they have achieved. 

We look forward to running this project for Year 8 again next year! 

Written by A Davidson